Quantum Supremacy

News:Google has announced that it has achieved a breakthrough called quantum supremacy in computing.

Facts:

About Quantum Supremacy:

• The phrase quantum supremacy was coined in 2011 by John Preskill, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology.
• Quantum supremacy refers to quantum computers being able to solve a problem that a classical computer cannot.
• It uses the principles of quantum mechanics so that they can easily tackle computational problems that are beyond the scope for the classical computer.

Quantum computing and Traditional Computing:

• The quantum computing differs from a traditional computing in the way the two store information.
• The traditional computer stores information in the form of binary bits that can process either ‘1’ or a ‘0’ at a time.
• On the other hand,Quantum computers compute in qubits or quantum bits which means it can be put into a quantum state where they can simultaneously represent both 0 and 1.

What Google has achieved?

• Google has claimed that its quantum computer named Sycamore, has completed the task in 200 seconds that would have been accomplished in 10,000 years by the world’s fastest supercomputer named Summit.

Significance of the achievement:

• Google have achieved only the development of an architecture of qubits and the demonstration of its computing capabilities.Hence,there is still a long way from developing a quantum computer.
• However,quantum computer when created could revolutionise science research and technological advances.It could boost areas like artificial intelligence leading to new energy sources and even to new drug therapies.
• On the other hand, the quantum computing can also be a threat to national security.They could override the encryption that protects our computers and the data we use online.